Basic Instincts
by Shanrei
Summary: In a world full of dangerous creatures school is now a training program to teach kids how to hunt these creatures down. What happens when the most feared creature of them all actually attends school?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

I got this story idea from a dream I had. I thought it was pretty interesting so I decided to write a story using my favorite characters. This story came out of my warped head while I was dreaming so if there are any questions don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for reading!

Warnings: There will be some language, and vampire like themes (drinking blood, and what not).

Chapter 1

It was dark and she knew she should be in bed. Creeping down the hallways was a bad idea, especially at this school. If she were caught it would most likely lead to the discovery of her secret. The moonlight that reached out though the windows illuminated the grotesque creatures lining the walls. She was not afraid of them though. She knew they were dead, and stupid enough to get caught. She smiled at that, they had been caught.

Catching sight of one creature that had not been there earlier that morning she smiled even wider. "Wouldn't it be ironic if you eventually did end up stuffed and on that pedestal?"

The figure climbed down and a male voice said, " it would be ironic, but ironically it's the best place to hide when someone is late." She stared at her companion. He was tall, but not overwhelmingly so. His long brown hair appeared even darker at night and his violet eyes were warm and inviting. This created a striking contrast to his black clothes and fangs that glinted as he smiled.

"You're just early."

Pressing his lips together and sighing he said, " I take it you don't think it's a good night to go hunting."

He could always read me so well. He knew exactly what I was thinking and why I was thinking it. Matching his sigh with my own, "you know the students from the upper classes are taking turns patrolling. It's dangerous, and I don't want to risk it."

"We haven't fed for a week!" Lowering his voice from his sudden outburst, " I don't know how long I can last."

"I'll ask my roommate if she can get us some blood from the medical wing tomorrow. It should hold us over until the training programs are over."

Wrinkling his nose in disgust he said, "I don't like the idea of human blood. I mean it just seems wrong, and if we get caught with it will confirm the rumors. It will put our people in further danger. What's left of us anyway."

"We really don't have a choice. Don't worry as soon as they get done with the upper classes will stretch our wings and eat enough to last us two weeks."

He smiled again, "I know." Kissing her forehead he slipped back into the shadows and left. She frowned and followed the familiar path to one creature on the wall that was not grotesque like the others. At first glance one would think a human being had been stuffed and put on display, but on closer inspection that was not the case. The male "human being" had large bat like wings sprouting out of his shoulder blades. This seemed to be the only abnormal thing about the creature. The girl looking at him knew better. She knew in his mouth there were razor sharp teeth that could bite through almost any hide, and a hunger for blood that had long left that body.

Sighing she whispered to the figure, "How long did you hide before they caught you?" Silence met her ears and she sighed again. This man hanging on the wall was the school's most prized possession. It was their badge of honor. To her it was a reminder of what could happen to her if she wasn't careful. The man on display (she didn't even know his name) was the only one of her species to have ever been caught. She smirked, and made her way back to her dorm room.

Upon returning to her dorm room, she was greeted by her best friend Rei. "So?"

"He wasn't happy, and I still don't understand why I had to tell your brother we weren't going tonight."

"Aw, Mako, you know I hate telling him we aren't going hunting. Duo and I don't get along when we are hungry."

"Well we only have two more days to deal with it and then we can go."

Rei made an indignant noise, "since when did Trowa talk all the fun out of you? You used to take risks! Now you will hardly leave this room without making sure it's safe."

Mako just rolled her eyes, "I'm going to bed." Moving her tall frame around Rei's shorter one, Mako walked into her room and closed the door.

Rei opened her mouth as if to say something to Mako, but thought better of it. She mumbled something incomprehensible, and stomped back to her own room.

Mako groaned as her alarm clock went off. "Damn clock!" she cried as she threw it against the wall of her room. Standing up she stretched, but it did nothing to alleviate the pain in her wings. It was unnatural to keep them shrunk for so long. It was a curse and a blessing that her race had discovered a form of magic that would shrink their wings so that they could be easily hidden under clothing. At this point it was a curse.

Sighing she made her way into the bathroom she shared with her roommates Rei and Ami. Turning on the shower she stripped, and let the water sooth away some of her pain. It wasn't long before Rei was pounding on the door yelling about it being her turn. Chuckling slightly, Mako got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She opened the door to a scowling Rei on the other side. "Mako! There are others who have to use the bathroom!"

"Sorry," she said calmly. Rei wrinkled her nose, and stalked past Mako into the bathroom.

After dressing Mako made her way down to the dining hall for breakfast. The hall was crowded as always, but everyone seemed to be overexcited. Spotting her brother Trowa and Duo at a table in the corner, she quickly made her way over to them. Dropping into the seat next to Trowa she said," what is everyone so excited about?"

Trowa sneered, "they caught something last night."

Mako turned in the direction that Trowa was sneering. She found herself staring at three of the school's best students surrounded by a large group of people. A girl with long blonde hair with half of it tied up in a red ribbon was talking excitedly to the crowd of people. She was obviously telling of the capture her and her companions had made previously. The boy on her left had black hair pulled into a small ponytail at the base of his neck. He was sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, and eyes closed. It looked as if he was trying to block out the chatter of his female companion. The last boy seated at the table had messy brown hair, and was so focused on his laptop he didn't even seem to notice the people talking around him. Minako, Wufei, and Heero. They were the schools top students (besides Ami), and they were the people she feared the most. If anyone could discover who she was it was them. At that moment Heero looked up from his laptop, and stared right at her. His blue eyes locked with her green ones, and she realized she had been staring. Panicking slightly she hurriedly looked back at Trowa and said," Do we know what they caught?"

Trowa shook his head. Duo snorted, "This is bullshit. Whatever they caught could have been dinner last night."

Mako glared at him," if we had gone out last night one of us could have been the beast caught."

Duo glared back, "so what? At least I would have been full, and not trying to fill myself up with pancakes!"

"Shut the hell up!"

Trowa clamped his hands over both of their mouths and hissed, "both of you shut up. You're both just hungry."

Mako's anger flared, and without a word she got up and left. As she was leaving she passed Rei, Ami, and Quatre entering the hall. Ignoring their attempt to stop her and say hi, Mako continued walking. She walked until she found herself at the door of her first class. She checked her watch, and found she still had fifteen minutes until class started. Sighing she decided it wouldn't hurt to hang out in the classroom until class started. She found her seat and sat down. She tried to calm down as she sat there. All the thoughts racing through her mind made it difficult to calm down though. All she really wanted was to live her life without worry. She knew it was ridiculous to get so mad at Duo and Trowa, but lately all she wanted to do was live like everyone else. She didn't want to be hungry anymore. She didn't want to have to watch what she said anymore. Trowa and Duo had been so annoying lately. They had been getting on her last nerve. Not to mention Rei getting on her back about trying to be a little more cautious. Mako closed her eyes tight and rubbed her temples as all these thoughts ran through her head. She had not noticed that someone had entered the classroom.

"You look stressed." Makoto about fell at her chair she was so startled by the new presence in the room. Looking up from her desk she found her face to face with her teacher, Ms. Meioh.

"Oh..uh yeah. I guess."

"Well you must be if you are actually the first person in my classroom."

"I..I..was...yeah." Mako looked sheepishly at her biology teacher. She wasn't doing very well in her class. Mako found she did better in the classes that were physically based. Ironically she did the best in classes that taught her to defend herself against creatures like herself.

"I'm actually glad you're here early that way I won't have to ask you to stay after. I've been looking over your work, and I've noticed there has been a steady decline in the quality of your work. I know you're a smart girl, but if the quality of your work continues to decline then you're looking at failing. I have decided that it would be in your best interest to get a tutor."

"A what?"

"A tutor Makoto. In fact I have already asked an upper classman if he wouldn't mind doing it."

"I don't think I need a tutor. I mean where is an upper classman even going to get the time to tutor anyone."

"We are starting a new program that is aimed at promoting student relations. I personally think students helping other students will be a good thing for a lot of students. It also gives students something else to put on their applications for professional schooling after their upper level classes."

Makoto just stared at her teacher. Student relations? She didn't need help with student relations. Especially since the more students she knew the bigger possibility someone would find out what she was. Her mind was panicking, but she couldn't think of anything to say that would get her out of this.

"Well it's settled then. Heero Yuy has agreed to be your tutor, and he will meet you in the front hall after classes today."

Makoto almost fainted. Heero Yuy? HEERO YUY! He was the star student. He did every thing perfectly and efficiently. If he discovered her secret she would be dead on the spot. This was bad, very bad. Needless to say Mako did not pay attention in any of her classes that day.

Makoto's heart sank as her last class ended. Now she had to go meet with Heero. As she began to walk off the field they had been using for weapon training someone slung an arm around her shoulders, "hey babe. You aren't still mad at me are you?"

Mako turned to face Duo, and shrugged his arm off of her. Just looking at him made her blood boil. "Leave me alone Duo."

"Come on Mako. I'm sorry I got so worked up this morning. I didn't mean to take my frustrations out on you."

"You've been taking them out on me a lot lately."

"I'm sorry."

Mako stopped in mid-stride and turned to face Duo again. "Aw Duo not the puppy dog eyes." Duo leaned closer to Mako forcing Mako to look at him. "Okay okay Duo I'm not mad. Let's just try and not lose our tempers anymore."

Duo laughed and threw his arms around Mako and laughed, "oh good! I was getting worried!"

"Duo let go of me."

"Hold on a minute." Duo pulled Mako a little bit closer to him pressing his face into her chest.

Mako's eyes narrowed. "Let go of me Duo or you are going to lose that braid of yours," she growled menacingly.

Duo jumped back and grabbed his braid possessively, "you wouldn't dare."

"Try me," she said as she began walking back up to the school.

Duo fell into step beside her, "so I was thinking we should get everyone together and play a game or something. You know, get everyone's mind off hunger and what not."

Mako raised an eyebrow, "like a board game? What are we five again?"

"Hah hah. No I'm serious we should all do something together. I really need something to take my mind off things." Makoto stopped dead in her tracks. Duo had made her forget about Heero. Duo had kept walking and talking, but stopped when he noticed Mako wasn't still next to him, "hey babe what's wrong?"

"I can't hang tonight," she said spacely.

"What? Why not? It's not like there is anything else you could be doing. The only people you even do anything with are me, Rei, Trowa, Ami, and Quatre."

Mako groaned, "I have a tutoring session or whatever you'd call it tonight."

It was Duo's turn to raise an eyebrow, "tutoring...? You're joking right?"

"No I'm not. I'm failing biology, and Ms. Meioh said I had to have an upper classman tutor me."

"So what? You spend a couple hours going over class notes and all that shit and then you go back to what you normally do after class."

"Duo! Spending time with an upper classman is dangerous. They could figure out what I am."

"Nah you'll be fine. Most of the little signs they look for when identifying one of us are so small they will over look them when they're with you." Duo continued walking.

"Even Heero Yuy?"

Duo stopped and turned slowly to look at Mako, "you're not serious, are you?" Mako nodded. "Fuck! You're dead."

"Thanks."

Duo looked seriously at Mako, "We have to get that grade up so Ms. Meioh won't make you get Heero to help you."

"I'm working on it. I'll get Ami to help me too."

"I'll help too."

"What can you do to help? Biology isn't exactly your thing either."

"I'll supervise or something." Duo grinned.

"I've got to get going Duo, but can I ask you to do something?"

"Yeah sure. What ya need?"

"Please don't tell Trowa. He'll flip, and I don't need him to go all psycho overprotective brother on me."

"As long as you get that grade up soon, I won't."

"Deal! Thanks Duo!" Mako gave him a kiss on the cheek and ran off in the direction of the front hall.

Mako ran all the way to the entrance hall. She had talked to Duo longer than she thought. When she walked in she expected to find an annoyed Heero because she was late, but she found nothing, but the beasts on the wall staring at her. Sighing she sat down on one of the benches that ran along the middle of the hall.

Unknown to Makoto, Heero was watching her from the shadows. He watched her catch her breath and then look at her watch as she tapped her foot impatiently. So this is Makoto? She was a year younger than him, but because of her height she looked older at first glance. Her wavy dark brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail that made her striking green eyes stand out even more. She was the same girl that had been staring at him earlier. She was also the same girl Wufei had pointed out to him one day saying that one night he had seen her sneaking around the school. If she had been sneaking around after curfew he was going to find out why. He didn't trust her, and he was going to find out what she was doing up so late.

Heero walked out of his dark corner when Makoto's back was turned. He noticed something when he did though. Her head turned slightly as if she had heard him walking. Heero was very good at being silent when he wanted to and he had not wanted her to hear him. She didn't turn around or anything. She just continued to tap her foot, and act like she hadn't heard him. He sat down next to her. She jumped when he did. "You scared me!"

He knew she was pretending, those eyes didn't lie. "Let's go."

Makoto raised an eyebrow at him, "what no hello?" Heero ignored the remark, stood up, and began walking off. He could tell Makoto hesitated, but followed him nonetheless. "So...uh...where are we going?" Heero ignored her again. Heero lead her into the dorms, and up to his dorm. He opened the door and led her into the common room that joined with his and Wufei's room. He pointed to the couch and walked into his room to grab his books and laptop.

When he came back she was still standing and was looking suspiciously at the couch. "Sit." She glared at him and sat. Heero couldn't help notice how fidgety she was. Why was she so nervous? She jumped almost every time he moved. Deciding to ignore it, he began with his lessons.

Mako was glad Heero had got to the point. The less she had to talk to him the less chance she would give anything away. Although she did find him a little rude, and boring. She found it hard to pay attention to him. In fact the only reason she was listening to him was so she could get out of this whole tutor thing faster. Any concentration she had was broken when the door opened and an angry Wufei stormed in. A laughing Minako, and a girl that Mako knew as Usagi followed the angry man.

"You should have seen your face Wufei," Minako said in between fits of giggles.

"Shut up about it Mina!" Wufei shot back.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it! No one saw so stop being such a sour puss."

Usagi giggled, "I saw it! You jumped really really high!"

"I did not jump! Shut up!" Wufei look as if he was ready to punch someone.

Minako fell into a new round of laughter as she sat down in an armchair across from Heero. Wufei looked like he was ready to explode, but instead of biting anyone's head off he stormed into his room slamming the door. Minako and Usagi continued to laugh until Heero pointedly glared at both of them. Minako and Usagi were quiet for a minute or so until Minako noticed Mako, "hey! Who's your friend Heero?"

Heero just glared at Minako. Mako was frozen to the spot. Not only was one of the school's best students in the room, but two? And another one was in an adjoining room.

Minako ignored Heero's glare, and turned to Mako, "hi! I'm Minako, but people call me Mina for short." She flashed a gorgeous smile, and offered her hand to Mako.

Mako hesitated, but took Mina's hand, "I'm Makoto, or Mako."

"Well it's nice to meet you. This is my friend Usagi." Mina motioned to the shorter blonde girl sitting on the other side of Heero. She had kind blue eyes, and that famous hairstyle that made her known by everyone in the school. Mako shook her hand too, and smiled slightly. Minako continued talking, "you aren't in the upper level classes are you? I would recognize you if you were."

"Uh..no I'm actually in Usagi's year." Usagi nodded to confirm what Mako was saying.

"Oh. Well so are you and Heero dating or something?"

Mako's eyes widened, and Heero snorted in disgust, "What? No we aren't."

"So...what are ya doing then?"

When Heero didn't make any move to explain what she was doing here Mako said, "he's tutoring me."

"Oh I see! That new student relations program or whatever. I got roped into that too. It seems Usagi here isn't doing very well in weapons training, and I was the only one brave enough to take her on."

"Hey! Mina! I'm not that bad." Usagi pouted and turned away from Mina.

Mina ignored Usagi and continued talking to Mako, "so you have a brother in the upper classes don't you?"

Mako nodded, "yeah I do."

"His name is Trowa right?"

"Yes that's right."

"He's so quiet! I've tried talking to him a million times, but he always seems to find a way out of it. He doesn't have a girlfriend does he?"

Mako's heart started beating loudly in her ears. She was interested in Trowa? "Uh...no he doesn't."

"I thought he might have. I always see him hanging around that girl Rei. I thought maybe there was something going on between them."

Mako shook her head, "no...she's just a good friend."

"Well in that case in chance you'd talk to him for me?"

Heero stood up, "okay Makoto I think we're done here for the day. I'll see you tomorrow."

Mako silently thanked Heero for interrupting, and stood up quickly, and made for the door. Mako noticed that Mina glared at Heero, and Usagi looked slightly confused. Mako said a very quiet goodbye, and left as quickly as she could. Once outside Mako let out a sigh of relief.

Heero watched Makoto leave, and then turned to find Mina glaring at him. He raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"What'd ya do that for?"

"What?"

"Make her leave so quickly! We were getting to know each other!"

"You were trying to get a date."

"That's besides the point. She seems nice though."

Usagi nodded, "I think she is. She helps me out during class sometimes."

Heero grunted, and Wufei walked out of his room and said, "There is something off about her."

Heero nodded, "she's hiding something. Did you notice how jumpy and nervous she was?"

Mina sighed, "You both are so paranoid. Have you ever thought that you, Heero are a pretty scary guy?"

Heero glared at Mina again, grabbed his things and walked into his room. Minako and Usagi both turned their attention to Wufei, but upon setting their sights on him, they burst out laughing. Wufei tensed, and walked quickly back into his room.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Mako found herself sitting at the breakfast table with Duo, Trowa, and Quatre. Rei and Ami had decided they were going to study for a test together. Even though Ami was in her year, she was also taking some upper level classes. Some of those classes happened to be the same ones Rei was taking and they often spent some mornings going over notes instead of eating breakfast.

Not that Mako felt like eating much. Human food was making her sick because she hadn't had blood in over a week. Looking over at Duo and Trowa she knew they must have been feeling the same way. Trowa was slightly slumped over in his chair, and looked rather pale. Duo looked even worse off. He was extremely pale, and had laid his head down on the table. Even his hair wasn't as neatly braided as it normally was. Mako had a feeling she looked just as bad. She knew they needed to eat soon. Going three weeks and only feeding once in that time period wasn't good for them, but when she had asked Ami for blood from the medical wing she had said that after last time she took some for them the school had decided to lock up the blood at night. "Maybe we should go out tonight guys."

Trowa looked over at Mako, "Rei and I are on patrol tonight."

"So we can go if we stick to the areas you and Rei are patrolling!"

"If Rei and I are partnered together."

Mako sighed and Duo hit the table with his fist, "I can't take much more of this."

Mako rubbed Duo's back gently, "you'll let us know if you and Rei are partners right?" Trowa nodded and everyone fell silent.

Everyone was shocked out of silence when Minako sat down next to Mako and said, "hey Mako. I was thinking that maybe after you and Heero are done this afternoon you could come shopping in town with Usagi and I. What do you think?"

Mako stared a Mina like she had grown another head. She felt Duo shift uncomfortably next to her, and heard Trowa gasp softly. "Uh..."

"You okay Mako? You don't look very good. In fact Quatre looks like the only healthy one here."

Quatre smiled uncomfortably, and mumbled something about more bacon. He got up quickly and left.

Mako looked apologetically at Mina, "you know Mina...I'm actually not feeling very well today. Maybe we can go shopping some other time."

Mina shrugged, "well okay. I guess I'll see you for a little bit this afternoon anyway, right?"

"Uh...yeah."

"Good. See ya later." Mina got up and left, winking at Trowa as she did.

Mako didn't even look at Trowa or Duo; she just took off as fast as she could. She made it halfway to her dorm room when Trowa grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. "What the hell was that!"

Mako knew he was mad. He never raised his voice like that unless he was mad, "I didn't want to tell you Trowa."

"Tell me what?"

"I'm failing biology."

"What does that have to do with Minako or Heero?"

"Heero is tutoring me in biology."

"Damn that new program to hell!"

"Trowa calm down! It's not the end of the world. I'll just work extra hard to bring my grade up, and then I won't need to be tutored."

"I should talk to your teacher Mako. Maybe I can talk her into letting me tutor you."

Mako shrugged, "you can try."

"I can't believe you didn't tell anyone."

"I didn't want anyone to freak out."

At that moment, much to Mako's disappointment Duo wandered up to them, "did you tell him?"

Mako groaned, "Duo!"

Trowa glared at Mako, "you told Duo?"

"Well...yeah."

"I can't believe you!" Trowa stormed off, and Mako knew she had made him mad, but even worse she had hurt him.

Mako hit Duo upside the head, "you dummy!"

"Hey! This isn't my fault. You're the one who didn't tell him."

Mako brought her fist back as if to punch Duo, but she didn't get a chance to because Rei and Ami came walking down the hall. Rei's violet eyes widened, "Mako! What are you doing?"

Duo ran and hid behind his sister and Ami. Ami shook her head at Mako and said quietly, "Try not to lose your tempers guys."

Mako's fist shook as she lowered it to her side. "I'm just hungry! Leave me alone!"

Rei stepped closer to Mako, "we are all hungry, but we aren't going around trying to punch everyone that pisses us off!"

"I said leave me alone Rei."

Ami backed away slowly. She had seen this happen before. When they got hungry they got violent. "Come on you two. There is no need to get so upset. You don't want to cause a scene."

"I'm not the one causing a scene, Ami, Mako is."

"If you'd leave me alone there would be no need for a scene Rei."

Duo tried to grab Rei's arm and pull her back, but Rei yanked it away from him, "stay out of this Duo."

"This is getting out of hand Rei! Mako wasn't going to punch me! We are all to high strung! Just let it go!"

Rei and Mako ignored Duo, and without warning they lunged at each other. Duo and Ami watched helplessly as their two friends fought each other. Duo was too shocked to even get in the middle of them both. Mako and Rei were a flurry of fists, feet, and teeth. It wasn't long before students were watching the two go at it. Duo got panicky when he realized so many people had come to watch, and attempted to pry Mako off of Rei. He was unsuccessful because Mako pushed him back into a wall where he promptly hit his head. Duo's vision swam as he tried to stand up. He was angry now, and was about to join the fight when the weapons teacher Milliardo Peacecraft, and Heero pulled the two girls apart. Heero held Mako around the neck as he pulled her away from Rei. Milliardo pulled Rei up by the waist and set her down behind him. "What the hell is going on here?" Mako and Rei refused to reply, and instead they just glared at each other. "If you won't speak to me you'll both meet Lady Une in her office after classes today. Understand?" Mako and Rei both nodded. "Now both of you go up to the medical wing, and get yourselves cleaned up." Milliardo shook his head at both of them. The weapons teacher then started herding the crowd that had formed away.

Heero finally let go of Mako, and surveyed the damage. She had the makings of a black eye, and various scratches and bruises. The thing that shocked Heero the most was she had a large gash in her shoulder. Heero hadn't seen any weapons, and he couldn't figure out how she could have received such a serious wound from Rei in a fistfight. When Heero looked at Rei he saw she had a split lip and like Mako scratches and bruises. She didn't have a large wound like Mako. Turning back to Mako he said, "you should probably get that looked at."

Mako looked at what he was talking about and gasped slightly and then glared at Rei. Turning back to Heero, "I hurt myself in class the other day, and it must have re-opened in the fight." Heero could tell she was lying.

"I'll take you up to the medical wing before you lose anymore blood."

Mako shook her head, "it's not as bad as it looks. Ami will take care of it for me. Right Ami?"

Ami nodded, "yeah I will. Let's get you and Rei up to the dorm and I'll fix you both up."

"I'll come too."

"No! Uh...we'll be fine Heero."

Heero glared at her. Why had she said no so fast? "Ami can't look at both of you at the same time. I'm not taking no for an answer." Besides Heero wanted any chance he got to look at that wound on Mako's shoulder.

Duo stepped in between Heero and Mako, "that won't be necessary. I can help Ami. So run along."

Heero stared at Duo, and he could tell that if he made any other attempt to help there would be a second fight that day. Without a word Heero turned and walked back down to the breakfast hall. Duo gave a sigh of relief, and helped the girls back up to their dorm room.

Once safely in their room Mako burst out, "I can't believe you bit me Rei!"

"Sorry. I got too caught up in killing you." Rei smirked at Mako.

Mako laughed, "Well it hurts like hell."

Duo glared at both of them, "so what now you're friends?"

Mako and Rei turned to face Duo, and Rei asked, "What's the matter Duo?"

"Don't you guys get it! You just got the whole school's attention. Not to mention everyone is going to be wondering how you got that tear in your shoulder Mako. That little story you told Heero is going to fly." Duo stopped talking to catch his breath, and opened his mouth as if to say something else.

"Will all of you shut up! Calm down!" Everyone turned to stare at Ami. Ami turned bright red when she realized that it had been her that told everyone to shut up. "I...I...just think you are all getting too out of hand."

"Wow Ami who thought you had it in you," Duo said as he patted her on the back.

Mako sighed, "She's right. Look at how crazy we got over nothing. I think we need to eat, and eat fast."

Rei nodded, "the only problem is Trowa, and I aren't partners tonight."

Mako looked confused, "how do you know that? Trowa just said he didn't know who his partner is."

"I checked the list just before we got in a fight."

"Well…then Duo and I will go out tonight."

"Mako you can't! Upper level students will be out there tonight!"

"You almost tore my shoulder off today, we have to eat tonight! Duo and I will take the first thing we can find. We'll bring you and Trowa back something to eat. It'll be enough to last us until tomorrow night."

"What if you get caught?"

"We won't. If Duo and I stick together and stick to just getting something fast we'll be fine."

Rei thought about it for a minute, "okay...but we can't tell Trowa. At least not until you two are back."

Duo nodded, "no kidding. There is no way in hell he'd ever agree to this, but we have to do it. Even Trowa is getting edgy, and he's Trowa."

"Then it's settled. Duo and I will go hunting tonight."

Heero walked back into the dining hall, and found Mina and Wufei sitting where he'd left them earlier. He sat down rather heavily next to Wufei, and put his head in his hands. Wufei turned to him and said, "What was all the noise?"

Heero looked at Wufei, "Makoto and Rei got in a fist fight in the hall."

Mina's eyes widened in shock, "no way! Did they hurt each other?"

"That's the weird part. Makoto had a large gash in her shoulder, but I didn't see any weapons. There is no way she could have received a wound like that from a fist fight."

Wufei raised an eyebrow, "did you look at it closely?"

"No. She and her friends wouldn't let me get near it. She told me she got it in class, and that it must have re-opened."

"And why don't you believe her Heero? Both you and Wufei are way out of line."

Heero glared at Mina, "you don't find anything weird about her?"

"No I don't, and I think you're just so bored that you're looking for some excuse to entertain yourself. You thought Wufei was a spy for the Delian Academy our rival school, when you first met him."

Heero stared at Mina, "and he is."

"That's beside the point."

Wufei looked at her incredulously, "it proves his point Mina. He was right about me, so what's to say he's not right that there is something weird about this girl?"

"No it proves that Heero is suspicious of everyone, and that you are a traitor."

Wufei turned to Heero, "why do we hang out with her?"

Heero shrugged, and Mina laughed, "Because you both love me."

Wufei snorted, but didn't reply. They all lapsed into silence. Heero sunk into is normal mode of thinking. He knew if he wanted to find out what this girl was hiding he needed to know more about her. What did he know about her now? Her name was Makoto. She was failing biology. Heero cursed himself. It was not like him not to research someone before having anything to do with him or her. At that moment he noticed Quatre walking by. Quatre used to room with Heero and Wufei, but at the beginning of this school year he was assigned to room with Trowa. Heero smirked. Trowa was Mako's brother. "Hey Quatre!"

Quatre stopped walking and turned to face Heero, "oh, hey Heero."

"Come sit down Quatre."

Quatre looked a little confused, but sat down anyway, "what's...up?"

"We haven't talked in awhile."

Quatre shrugged, "well since I changed rooms we haven't seen each other very much."

"Yeah. So how is your new room?"

"Uh...pretty much the same as ours was."

"How's your new roommate?"

"Trowa? Oh well he's nice, very quiet." Heero noticed Quatre started shifting in his seat and avoiding eye contact when he mentioned Trowa.

"I see. What about his sister? Talk to her much?"

"Uh...yeah she and I are friends."

"I actually wanted to ask you if..." Heero was cut short when Trowa walked up and interrupted their conversation.

"I locked myself out of our room Quatre. Do you think you could come unlock it for me?"

Quatre nodded, "oh yeah. Let's go. I'll see you around Heero."

Heero nodded to Quatre, and watched Quatre and Trowa's retreating forms. Quatre used to be pretty open with Heero, and he barely responded to anything Heero had said.

"They're hiding something." Heero nodded to Wufei.

Mina made a frustrated noise, "both of you knock it off. Now you're using poor Quatre to get to this girl. He's your friend, leave him out of it." With that said she stormed out of the dining hall, but she made sure to hit both Heero and Wufei on the head with her bag as she passed.

Rei and Mako skipped classes that day. They both felt they needed to stay away from the student population when they were crazy enough to attack each other. They spent most of the day watching Duo's movies. Duo had been the only one out of their group of four to become interested in movies. Rei and Mako had never really watched the movies he gave them to watch, but right now they needed something to take their minds off their current situation.

"Hey Rei?"

Rei turned her attention away from the television, and faced her best friend Mako. "Yeah?"

"Did Duo tell you about Heero tutoring me?"

Rei sighed, "he did."

"Are you mad I didn't tell you?"

"I'm hurt, but not mad. Listen Mako; we can't help you if you don't tell us about these things. It's a big risk to even be attending this school, and we won't survive if we shut each other out."

"I know. I...I know this sounds stupid, but I wanted to feel normal. I know Heero is dangerous, but just being there and pretending like I was just like everyone else."

"Normal?" Rei pulled Mako into a hug, "Mako! There isn't anything wrong with you. We're just different."

"But why do I have to be hunted for being different?"

"I can't answer that Mako."

Mako hugged Rei for a while, and then pulled away. "Do you know a girl named Minako?"

"Sure. Blonde girl who never stops talking or flirting."

"She's trying to get a date with Trowa."

Rei's looked disgusted, "are you serious? Why would she even want to date him?"

Mako threw a pillow at Rei, "Rei! He's my brother, and a nice guy."

Rei laughed, "I'm sorry, but that's it he's your brother."

"She's a nice girl though. She asked me to go shopping with her and one of her friends."

Rei eyed Mako, "you're seriously thinking about spending time with her?"

"I know it's a bad idea, but I don't want to be so isolated anymore."

"I can't stop you Mako, but I want you to know that as nice as people seem they can turn pretty nasty when they're faced with something they don't like."

"Ami and Quatre were fine with it."

"That's because Ami is smart and knows there aren't any reports of our kind hurting any humans. Plus Quatre is her boyfriend, and a nice guy all around."

"Let's just drop it. We need to focus on getting through this meeting with Lady Une."

Rei laughed, "We'll work it out."

The meeting with Lady Une didn't go as bad as Mako had thought it would. Lady Une had given them a fierce lecture and warning, but because Mako and Rei had never been in any real trouble before, Lady Une had let them off. Mako let out a sigh of relief as she and Rei walked out of Lady Une's office. Rei waited until Lady Une's office door was closed, and burst out laughing.

"God Mako! You need to relax!"

Mako glared at Rei, "Oh forgive me for being a little worried about having a meeting with the head of this school!"

Rei patted Mako's head, "Relax."

Mako scrunched her face up, and pushed Rei's hand away. "Knock it off. I'm fine." Mako turned on her heel, and started walking away from Rei in the direction of their dorm. She hadn't made it two steps before her face collided with something. Cursing herself silently, Mako took a step back, and rubbed her nose. Mako's eyes widened as she looked up, and found herself staring into the eyes of Heero Yuy.

Heero grabbed Mako's hand and pulled it away from her face. Mako felt herself blush at the unusual contact with Heero. Heero made her feel even more uncomfortable as he let go of her hand and tipped her chin up so he was staring her straight in the face. "It's fine," he said in his usual cold voice.

"What?" Mako said confused.

"Your nose. It's fine."

Mako pulled away from Heero's grasp, and quickly looked away from him. Mako heard Rei snort from behind her and say, "what are you doing here Yuy?"

"I came to get Makoto. I have a feeling she's still failing biology."

Rei scoffed at Heero, "whatever."

Mako patted Rei's arm gently, "it's okay. I'll see you later."

Rei smiled, "okay, but don't be too late. You and Duo still need to finish that thing tonight."

Mako nodded to Rei as she turned to follow Heero to his dorm.

"What thing?"

"I don't think it's any of your business Heero."

Heero didn't reply and was silent until they reached his dorm. He didn't say anything to her that didn't have to do with biology for the rest of the afternoon. It made Mako uncomfortable to have him be so cold to her, but in her mind she decided it was probably for the best that they didn't talk much about anything else.

Mako had an easier time paying attention to Heero then she had the previous night. By the time her session with Heero had ended she felt she had at least learned a little bit. She was sad though because Mina and Usagi hadn't showed up like they had the last time, but she was glad Wufei hadn't interrupted. She thanked Heero who only nodded to her as she left.

Mako made her way back to her own dorm room hoping to get in a little nap before Duo and her were to go hunting. Unfortunately as soon as she opened the door to the room she shared with Ami and Rei, she knew she would not be getting any sleep. Trowa was standing in the middle of the living room with his arms folded across his chest staring at Rei. Rei was slumped on the couch avoiding Trowa's gaze, and looked like she had been crying. Duo was sitting next to Rei, and had an arm slung around her trying to comfort her. Ami and Quatre sat together at the small table at the far end of the room, both of who looked extremely uncomfortable.

Trowa took his eyes off of Rei and faced Mako, "I don't even know where to start with you."

"What are you talking about Trowa? If you're still mad at me for not telling you about…"

Trowa cut her off, "the whole school is talking about your fight with Rei this morning!"

Mako flinched, "oh that."

"I can't leave you guys alone without something happening. We can't draw attention to ourselves, and you two start a fistfight in the hall. Not to mention Rei bit you."

Mako knew that when Trowa's voice was that low and menacing he meant business, "Trowa we're sorry! It just sort of happened. It won't happen again, and you getting all worked up about it won't solve anything." Trowa looked like he was going to say something, but Mako cut him off, "Trowa stop. A fight will break out if you push this. Look you even made Rei cry."

Trowa and turned to look at Rei, and when he saw Rei's red puffy eyes his own eyes softened. "Everyone beat it I want to talk to Rei. Alone."

Duo glared at Trowa, "what so you can make her cry again?"

Rei gently pushed Duo away, "it's okay Duo."

"Fine, but if he makes you cry again he'll have hell to pay." Duo glared at Trowa while he walked into Mako's room that was off to the left. Mako sighed and followed Duo, while Ami and Quatre disappeared into Ami's room.

Duo closed the door behind Mako and stuck his ear against it to try and hear Trowa and Rei. Mako rolled her eyes, and pulled Duo by the braid away from the door.

"Ouch! That hurts Mako!"

"Stop spying."

"I want to hear what they are saying!"

"Trowa is apologizing. You know he doesn't like to apologize while there is an audience."

"Well he's stupid."

Mako threw her pillow at him, "shut-up. I'm too tired to try and win a verbal war with you."

Duo laughed, "you'd lose even if you had all the energy in the world."

"Are you still talking?"

Duo shook his head, and handed Mako back her pillow, "take a nap. I'll wake you up when it's time to leave."

Mako yawned, "okay, but what'll you do? Trowa might take a long time to apologize."

Duo shrugged, "don't worry about it. I'll keep myself entertained."

Mako lie down, and quickly fell asleep.

Mako groaned as she felt someone shaking her by the shoulder. She didn't want to wake up. She was having the nicest dream. "Mmmm…stop. I'm sleeping." The shaking stopped and Mako found herself drifting back into her dream. Her parents were there. They weren't dead after all. As she started walking toward them, she felt the shaking start again. Her parents started fading, and Mako started crying out to them.

"Mako! Mako! Wake-up!"

Mako's eyes fluttered open, and she found herself staring at Duo's worried face. "Uh…"

"You okay Mako? You're crying." Duo wiped a tear off of Mako's cheek.

"I'm fine. Bad dream I guess. I can't even remember it now." That was a lie. Mako dreamed of her parents every now and then and every time she woke up crying. She missed them, and lately she felt like she had no one to turn to. Trowa's over protectiveness made her feel like she was in prison. She wanted to talk to him, but she hadn't had a real conversation with him in a long time, and she felt like they were growing apart.

"You had a dream about your parents didn't you. You always cry when you dream about them."

Mako looked at Duo funny, "I didn't tell you that."

"No, but Rei did."

"Oh. Well don't worry about it."

Duo stared at her for a minute as if deciding whether or not to worry about, but in the end it seemed he decided not to, "you ready?"

Mako nodded, "give me a second to change."

Duo smiled and left the room. Mako looked at the clock, and noted it was almost midnight. Sighing Mako got out of bed, and opened her closet. She pulled a box off of the top shelf, and dumped the contents out onto her bed. Mako pulled a small leather shirt out of the pile on her bed. The shirt tied around Mako's neck and across her back under her wings. This left her back bare, and her front covered. She then pulled a pair of tight black pants out of the pile, and put them on after the shirt. Mako hated the clothes because they made her feel so exposed, but they were ideal for flying. Throwing a zip-up sweater on, Mako walked out of her room to meet Duo in the living room that joined with Ami and Rei's rooms.

Upon entering the room Mako found that Ami was up, and waiting to wish Duo and her luck. Ami hugged Mako, and said, "be safe."

"Don't worry Ami we will."

Duo said, "let's go Mako."

Mako and Duo made their way silently through the dark hallways of the school. They met no one on their way up to the tallest tower of the school. The large lancet window that overlooked the forest behind the school cast foreboding shadows across the stone floor. Mako sighed and shrugged off her jacket and shoes. She placed them in a dark corner, and watched Duo do the same with his shirt and shoes. Duo turned around and grinned at Mako, "ready?"

Mako flashed a smile back, and opened the lower half of the window. "You first Duo." Duo smirked to himself, and threw himself out of the window. Mako watched as his large bat like wings unfolded behind him, and he gracefully descended into the cover of the forest. Waiting until she knew Duo had cleared the trees, Mako lifted the charm off of her wings so they grew to their normal size. Unlike Duo, Mako liked to lift the charm off her wings before she got into the air. Taking a deep breath she plunged out the window.

As soon as the night air hit her face Mako's face she knew something was wrong. The sudden jerking of the muscles in her back and shoulders tore open the wound in her shoulder. Mako winced at the sudden pain that shot threw her body. She tried to shift her wings slightly again, and pain coursed threw her body. She had to make it to the trees. The longer she was in the air the more chance there was that one of the students out on patrol would see her. Tears in her eyes Mako gritted her teeth, and shifted her wings so she was making a b-line for the trees. The new wave of pain cost Mako a smooth landing. Breaking through the line of trees, Mako crashed almost immediately into a large tree.

Groaning as she sat up, Mako gently grasped her shoulder. Warm sticky blood seeped through her fingers at an alarming rate. The wound was bigger than before. Cursing herself she tried to stand, but found the collision with the tree had left her hurting not only in the shoulder, but everywhere. Glancing down at her side she could see a large purple bruise already forming.

Mako almost jumped out of her skin when a hand came out of no-where and landed on her unharmed shoulder. "Mako what the hell happened?"

Mako sighed in relief as she recognized Duo's voice, "I guess Rei's bite was worse than I thought."

Duo walked behind Mako to look at her shoulder. Gasping slightly he said, "We need to go back, and get Ami. If you don't get this cleaned out soon it'll get infected. Look! You've got leaves in it and…"

Mako clamped a hand over Duo's mouth. "Duo shut up." Mako cocked her head to the side and said, "Do you hear that?" They both stood in silence straining to listen. Mako heard it, and it confirmed her worst fear. Two people were walking very quietly in their direction. Whispering, Mako said to Duo, "you hear that? I must have gotten someone's attention with my landing."

"We've got to move then."

Mako nodded, and made to follow Duo up one of the neighboring trees. Reaching her arm up to grasp a low-hanging branch, Mako felt pain rocket through her body again. She knew there was no way she was going to be able to climb that tree without Duo's help. Mako frantically called to Duo as softly as possible, but found that he had not waited and was already long gone. The loud thumping of her heart was suddenly cut short when she caught sight of two figures only ten feet away. Crouching low, Mako crawled under a nearby bush. She climbed as far in as she could, and as quietly as she could.

The voices of the two figures grew louder and louder until Mako finally recognized one of them as Wufei's. Her heart beat faster at the recognition. He would surely find her. The girl, whose voice Mako didn't recognize, said to Wufei, "it was probably just a Hericlfi Wufei. We've come across so many of them tonight."

Mako hoped to God Wufei would buy that. Hericlfi were large deer like creatures that had bright red colored fur, long black tails with small sharp spines on the ends, and short stubby horns just in front of their large triangle ears. They were harmless except their fur, which burned when touched, and the spines on their tails, which were nasty to pull out when they got stuck in the skin. Hericlfi were very nervous creatures that were afraid of everything. Therefore they rarely hurt anybody, and were not hunted or killed.

"I heard voices."

"It was probably another group out tonight Wufei."

The girl and Wufei stopped walking right in front of the bush Mako was hiding in. They were so close Mako could almost reach out and touch them. Mako paled slightly at the sight of a long wicked looking knife the girl was sporting. Fear wound itself in Mako's chest as Wufei bent down in front of the Mako's bush gun in hand, and said, "I think whatever I heard was coming from around here."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. 

Warnings: There will be some language, and vampire like themes (drinking blood, and what not).

Author's notes: I wanted to be posting chapters rather quickly, but unfortunately I have hardly any free time anymore. I guess that's what I get for going to college while working two jobs. I've got to pay for it somehow (not to mention my car which just got wrecked). So I'm sorry for the slow updates. The good news is this chapter is fairly long! I'll get the next chapter out faster if I get more reviews! So review!

Chapter 3 

Mako's heart hammered uncontrollably inside her ribcage. What should she do? Attack him before he attacked her? She could feel herself start to tremble, her eyes wide with fear as she watched Wufei sink slowly to his knees. Her mind numb, Mako lost all sense of herself. The click of Wufei's companion's impatient tongue only increased the madness building within her.

Just as Wufei was eye-level with Mako, something large fluffy and blue collided with his head. The force of the object caused Wufei to lose his balance and he landed on his side looking extremely irate. His companion began to laugh uncontrollably, and had to steady herself on a nearby tree. Mako turned her attention to the object that had collided with Wufei's head, and found it to be a Trithalee. A Trithalee was a large bird. They were valued mostly because of their feathers that had medicinal purposes. They were also kept as pets because they were beautiful creatures with their amazingly blue feathers that looked like they were made of water. Their long necks and slim bodies enabled them to be graceful flyers. Unfortunately they were quite goofy birds on land. This Trithalee looked quite ruffled as it waddled away from Wufei.

The girl with Wufei continued to laugh, "see Wufei! All you heard was that bird crashing into things."

Mako saw Wufei's eye start to twitch, "shut up Dorothy." Wufei picked himself up off of the ground, "damn bird."

"Can we go now? We have other things to do tonight."

"Fine." Mako heard them begin to walk away, and she felt herself start to breathe normally. Silently she thanked the uncoordinated Trithalee. She waited until she was sure that Wufei and Dorothy were long gone before climbing out from under the bush she was hiding in. She stood up carefully trying to avoid the pain she felt in every muscle in her body. Mako sighed, now she had to find Duo.

At that moment Duo's familiar presence got Mako's attention. He emerged out from behind a tree looking sheepish. "I'm so sorry Mako! I got all panicked at the thought of being seen." He hung his head in such shame that Mako could hardly hold on to her anger. As long as Mako had known Duo he had always had the ability to force anger and hostility away from him. That ability had saved her and Trowa in ways Duo would probably never know.

Sighing Mako smiled at Duo, "even when you almost get me killed I can never stay mad at you Duo."

He smiled half-heartedly, "you may not be mad at me, but I am."

Chuckling, "oh Duo shut up. I'm fine. That clumsy Trithalee was in the right place at the right time."

"Actually I sort of chucked it at Wufei's head."

Mako laughed, "I thought its feathers looked out of place."

"Well, how about I get us something to eat, and then we get the hell back in bed."

"Alright. Let's get this done fast."

"Uh, Mako I think I should hunt and you…you should just wait here."

Mako looked at Duo quizzically, "what? Why?"

"To put it bluntly, you look awful."

"I…" Mako knew she probably wouldn't be much help. She felt awful, but that didn't change the fact that she didn't want Duo to do all the hunting without her.

"No buts Mako. Trowa will have my head for not taking you back right now. Hell! He'll have my head for even being out here. Now hang out here, and I'll be back very soon."

Mako glared at Duo as he ran off. She knew he was serious, and that he was right, but that didn't mean she wasn't annoyed. Sitting down at the base of a tree trunk, Mako leaned her head back against it. Her head was starting to hurt and she was dizzy. Placing her hand on her shoulder she could still feel the blood running. It wasn't flowing like it had been, but it was still bleeding. She hoped Duo would be back soon. Closing her eyes she felt herself start to drift in and out of sleep. She didn't want to go to sleep, but the rhythmic pounding of her heart mixed with the blood running down her back made it hard for her to keep her eyes open.

Crying, a four-year old girl sought out her mother. Finding her at the back of the cave they now called home she launched herself at her mother's legs and held onto them for dear life. She heard her mother sigh as she was lifted up off the ground into her mother's arms. She heard her soft voice caress the back of her neck, "is your brother pulling your hair again?" She nodded into her neck. Her mother sighed again before carrying her over to the small area on the floor where she and her brother shared a makeshift bed. "It's time for you to go to bed."

"But Mom!"

Her mother sighed again, and looked more tired than the girl had ever seen her look before, "please pretty girl try to sleep."

"I'm hungry though."

Her mother closed her eyes and pressed her thin fingers against her eyelids, "I know. Your father isn't back yet."

"What if he comes back while I'm sleeping?"

At that moment her older brother jumped on the pile of blankets that was their bed. Her mother flinched, "careful!"

"Sorry Mom, but I had to tell you that I saw Dad! He's almost here!"

She watched her mother and brother hurry to the entrance of the cave. She followed as fast as she could, but unfortunately the girl's small legs did not carry her very fast. By the time she reached the end of the cave her father was handing her mother a bag.

"Daddy!"

Her father's smile was somewhat forced as he picked her up, "you should be in bed."

She pouted, "I didn't see you all day."

"Well now you have, so let's get you in bed."

He placed her back on the bed, and had her brother curl up next to her. He then made his way over to where her mother was checking the contents of the bag. She heard her mother whisper, "this isn't enough for all of us."

"I know. There isn't anything to hunt here. It's too cold."

"We aren't going to survive like this."

"We'll make it. We have to."

"The kids don't understand. They don't understand why it's so dangerous back home."

Her parents stopped whispering, and she was even more confused about the whole situation. Nothing had been this hard for her family before, but a while ago they had to leave the only home she'd ever known because people were trying to hurt them. It was all so confusing, and her young brain could not understand what was happening with her family. She turned over and found herself face to face with her brother. Their gazes locked and somehow she knew that something was wrong. She felt her brother's small hand grip her even smaller one.

A hand gently shook her shoulder, "hey pretty girl I've got something for you to eat before you go to bed."

She sat up and took the cup her mother offered her. She put the cup to her lips, and let the warm liquid slide down her throat. When she was half way done she held the cup up to her mother, "you have some mommy."

Her mother's eyes filled with tears, "no no pretty girl. I already had some you drink all of it." Looking at how thin her mother was the girl knew she was lying.

Jerking awake, Mako hugged herself. She began to sob into her knees as her earliest memories came flooding back. Squeezing her eyes shut as tight as she could, Mako tried to push out the thoughts of them dying so she could eat. She had never come to terms with that, and Trowa never talked with her about anything that had to do with their parents. She had never even told Duo or Rei how they died. Gripping her shins tightly, she tried to get a hold of her emotions.

Mako heard a twig snap behind her, and she turned her tear-streaked face to find Duo looking at her concerned. She realized then that she was still outside. Duo knelt down next to her, and pulled her into a gentle hug. He was careful to not touch her shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She latched onto Duo like it was the last time she would ever see him, and started to cry even harder. "I can't be strong anymore Duo."

He was silent, and she felt him curl his fingers in her hair. His smell surrounded her, and Mako felt suddenly calm. There was Duo's ability to get rid of all the anger and pain around him. After she had finished crying, Duo pulled back from her so he could look at her, and said, "Here I brought you something to drink. Drink it, and then I'll take you up to your room and we can talk. Okay?"

Mako nodded as Duo handed her an unconscious animal Mako didn't even bother to identify. She turned away from Duo because she didn't like to drink while anyone was watching. She was ashamed of how she had to nourish herself. There wasn't a definite reason Mako could pinpoint for this, but as far back as she could remember if she were drinking straight from the animal she wouldn't let anyone watch. She sunk her teeth into the soft flesh of the neck, and sucked as much blood as she could from the small animal. Turning back to Duo she handed him the limp body. Taking it from her, she watched him dig a small hole and bury the animal. They both said a small prayer of thanks before Duo helped her to the edge of the forest.

"Any chance you can fly?"

"No. You know that."

Nodding Duo put down the bag that must have contained food for Rei and Trowa. "I'll fly you up to the tower, and then come back for this," he said motioning to the bag.

"You sure you can carry me?"

"Yeah. I'm not ten anymore, my wings have fully developed."

Mako smiled at the memory of the last time Duo had tried to carry her. He had ended up breaking his ankle, and Mako had to help him limp back to Duo's grandfather's house. "Alright then."

Mako slung her good arm around Duo's neck as Duo put one arm around her back and the other around the back of her knees. Making sure he had a good grip on her he spread his wings and took flight. He made it to the window without any problems, which surprised Mako a little. He had grown up. Setting her down on the windowsill, he took flight again. She pulled her sweater and shoes out from the dark corner and put them on as she waited for Duo to go get the bag.

He returned in record time. Gently helping her up again they walked as quickly and quietly as they could back to Mako's dorm. Duo led Mako to the large couch upon entering her dorm, "I'll go get Ami."

Mako felt sick, and extremely tired. She was physically and emotionally drained. The blood had helped a little bit, but the throbbing in her shoulder reminded her she was far from okay. She jumped when a gentle hand touched her forehead, "Duo! She's got a fever!"

"I know Ami! Fix her!"

She heard Ami click her tongue at Duo, "Mako I need you to take off your sweater okay."

Nodding Mako sat up and pulled off her sweater as carefully as she could, and sunk back down on the couch on her stomach.

She heard Ami gasp as she asked Duo what happened. Duo launched into a very dramatic tale of the nights events, but Mako didn't have any energy to listen. Duo talked for a while until Ami told him to go get her first aid kit, and some hot water. When Duo returned, she felt Ami start to poke at her shoulder. It hurt, but her body was too tired to protest.

This continued for a while, as Mako felt herself go in and out of sleep. About the fourth time she felt herself come out of a hazy sleep, she heard Trowa's quiet voice, "Trowa?" Mako wasn't sure anyone would even hear her she said Trowa's name so quietly.

Trowa's warm hand slid into her cold one, "I'm here."

"Don't leave okay."

"I promise."

His presence was enough to make Mako comfortable enough to fall asleep for real.

Duo had his head in his hands as he waited for Ami to finish stitching up Mako's shoulder. How could he be so stupid to go out tonight? He had known Mako was hurt. Grinding his teeth, he gripped his hair tightly, and tried to force back tears. He looked up to find Rei was curled up on the loveseat chewing on her lip.

Trowa and Rei had returned half an hour ago. They had entered the room happily asking Duo if he and Mako were successful in bringing them back food. Duo hadn't been able to look at them as he handed over the bag he had brought back with him. Rei took the bag hesitantly before she had noticed Mako on the couch, Ami bent over her cleaning out her shoulder. Trowa hadn't wasted any time in crossing the room and kneeling beside Ami, and asking Ami if she was all right. Rei had just stood by the door looking absolutely horrified. It wasn't until Ami had assured Rei that Mako would be fine that they could get her to sit down.

After Ami had stitched Mako's shoulder up, Duo had helped Trowa move Mako into her room. After they had made her comfortable Duo had told Trowa in more detail about what had happened while he and Mako had been hunting. More importantly he told Trowa how upset Mako had been. Duo had never really seen Mako cry so much before.

Trowa had told Duo not to worry too much about it, and that he would talk to her when she was feeling better. Duo had been about to protest, but Mako had called to Trowa, and any conversation Duo was going to have with Trowa would have to wait. Now he was waiting out in the living room, and wishing the whole night had never happened. Duo stood up and crossed the room to stand in front of Rei, "you haven't even touched what I brought you."

Rei looked up at him her eyes wide with worry, "I can't eat right now."

Duo sighed. He knew his sister was blaming herself for what happened to Mako. He and Rei always had a tendency to blame themselves for what ever went wrong. It was one of the only things they had in common with each other. "Rei, Mako risked a lot going out tonight. You know that she would want you to eat what we brought back."

Rei stared at Duo, and then nodded, "you are right." She got up and pulled an animal from the bag, and Duo watched as she sunk her teeth into it. When she was finished she placed it back in the bag, "who's going to bury the bodies?"

"I figured I would tomorrow morning. It is the first day of the weekend after all."

Rei nodded, and Ami picked that moment to emerge from her room. "You both should go to bed. Mako will be fine after she gets some rest, and you two will be worse off than she is if you don't sleep."

Duo smiled at Ami, "you sure she'll be alright?"

"Of course I am. She just needs rest." She then threw an extra blanket at Duo, "sleep on the couch." Duo watched Ami shuffle back into her room.

"I guess she's right Rei."

"Yeah." Rei gave Duo a hug and a kiss on the cheek goodnight before she disappeared into her own room. Duo watched her go, and pulled the blanket that Ami had thrown at him over his shoulders.

Mina threw little pieces of paper at the back of Heero's head while she waited for him to finish what ever he was doing on his laptop. Usagi giggled every time a piece of paper bounced off Heero's head, and the rapid clicks of his keys stopped for a second. After five minutes of flicking paper, Mina finally got Heero's attention. He turned around to face her, "what the hell do you want?"

"It's the weekend Heero, and Usagi and I want to go DO something."

"So go do something."

Usagi sighed, "Heero! You don't want to work all weekend do you?"

He glared at the both of them, "why do you need me to be entertained?"

Mina laughed, "Come on Heero! You seriously don't want to stay here all day. We want to go into the city today. If you come with us we'll be sure to stop at the weapons shop, and computer store."

Heero's eye twitched, "and if I say no?"

Mina grinned, "Usagi and I stay here all day. I'm sure there is plenty of paper around here."

Heero grumbled, "Fine, but Wufei has to come with us."

Mina grinned even more, and Usagi clapped. Mina turned to Usagi, "I'll convince Wufei, and you make sure Heero doesn't make a run for it." Usagi nodded and Mina sauntered into Wufei's room. Upon entering she found him sitting cross-legged on the floor meditating. Grinning she walked over to him and knelt down beside him, "HEY! Wufei!"

Wufei opened one eye to look at Mina, "I'm busy."

"No you're not because you have plans."

"Go away."

She pushed Wufei gently, "you know I won't go away."

Growling he pushed himself up off of the floor, and pulled on his shirt. "I'm not going shopping Mina."

Mina sighed as she got up off of the floor, and repositioned herself on the bed. Heero was easy to manipulate, but Wufei seemed impervious to anything she threw at him. Half the time she felt like Wufei hated her, and half the time she didn't understand why she even bothered to try and be his friend. She twisted the edge of her skirt, and tried not to let her thoughts about Wufei get her down. Today was supposed to be fun, but somehow she knew that if Wufei didn't come she'd feel bad for the rest of the day.

Wufei growled again, "if I come will you stop looking so sad?"

Mina flashed him one of her gorgeous smiles, "you know it. We leave in ten minutes!" Mina bounced out of Wufei's room and back into the living room. "He's going Heero."

Usagi laughed, "Only you could get both of these guys to go."

Heero grunted, "I'm surprised he didn't bite your head off after what happened last night."

Usagi looked confused, "what happened last night?"

"Yeah what happened?"

Heero leaned back in his chair, "Dorothy was giving him shit last night while they were on patrol."

Mina snorted, "Dorothy is so annoying."

Usagi's nose wrinkled in disgust, "she creeps me out."

Shrugging, Heero shut his laptop, "Wufei thought he heard something last night, but when he went to check it out all he found was a Trithalee. Dorothy wouldn't leave him alone about it."

Mina's eyes flared, "she's such a bitch."

"Mina!" Usagi flinched.

"What! She is!"

"You don't have to say it like that!"

Heero sighed, "she may be a bitch, but she's proving to be a good student."

"That's only because she's cruel, and completely insensitive." Usagi said, distain dripping off of every word.

Mina eyed Usagi. She was the best judge of character Mina had ever known, and she had come to trust her judgment. If Usagi was so worked up about Dorothy, Mina knew to steer clear of her. "Did you ever find out why she transferred here Heero?"

"All the records said was that her family wasn't happy with the training she was receiving from the School of Antigone."

"Why! That school is ranked in the top best five schools in the world. This school is too, but this isn't a private academy."

"Yeah if my parents could have afforded it, I would have been going there." Usagi said tapping her lip with her finger.

Wufei cut off Heero's reply, "they started requiring students to take courses that present the LFCP's arguments for stopping the unnecessary killing of creatures."

Mina turned to face Wufei leaning on the doorframe of his room, "I didn't realize the League for Creature Protection had such a wide base of support. I mean they were just a small organization a little while back."

Wufei rolled his eyes, "if you watched the news Mina you'd know they've been gaining more and more support, but the School of Antigone is the first top ranking school to allow someone from the LFCP to teach a class. It's a big deal, and some parents, mainly those who support the extermination of most creatures, are against the whole idea."

Heero nodded, "and it's obvious that Dorothy's family is against the LFCP."

Yawning, Usagi said, "I hate politics. Can we forget about it?"

Mina nodded, "we should go. I'm sure Wufei and Heero have already beaten this issue to death with a stick. Hey! You know what I just remembered? Mako said she would go shopping with us the next time we went!"

Wufei snorted, "so?"

"We should go see if she wants to come."

"Gah. I think two women shopping is two too many, we don't need another tagging along."

"Wufei!" Mina said crossing the room and punching Wufei's arm slightly, "you don't have a say in the matter."

Heero knocked on Makoto's door, ignoring Wufei's attempts to talk the girls out of making him come. Wufei had argued with them the entire way to Makoto's dorm, and Heero was beginning to get annoyed. Hadn't Wufei figured out that Usagi and Mina would be even more annoying if they didn't go? The door opened, and Heero came face to face with Makoto's friend Duo.

Duo looked like he had just woken up. Hair that had escaped his braid was sticking out at odd angles, and his clothes were extremely rumpled. He yawned and said, "what's up?"

Heero stared at him. What the hell was he doing sleeping in a girl's dorm?

"Okay then if everyone is going to just stand there and stare at me, I'm gonna go back to sleep."

Mina stepped forward before anyone else did, "did you just wake up?"

Duo nodded yawning again, "yeah why?"

"Duo…this is a girl's dorm room. You aren't allowed to stay the night in a girl's dorm room."

Duo looked at Mina like he had no idea what she was talking about, "I stay the night here all the time."

Heero heard Wufei mutter, "injustice," and saw Usagi blush. Mina giggled, "Duo…I don't think you should talk about spending the night in a girl's dorm so casually."

"What? Why not?" Duo's eye's widened as he realized what Mina was implying, "oh…Oh!" He laughed nervously, "Come on you guys! My sister stays in this dorm."

"You have a sister?" Usagi said.

Duo nodded, "yeah I do. She's a year older, but wait! Why are you four here?"

Heero growled, "We're here to see Makoto."

"Oh…well…you see…"

"Mako is sick." Heero watched the door swing open even more to reveal a girl with long black hair and violet eyes. She was still wearing what looked like pajamas, and was obviously not very happy with the people standing outside the door.

Duo laughed nervously again, "Uh…this is my sister, Rei."

Rei ignored Duo, "I said Mako is sick, so you can leave."

"Is she alright?" Heero found the words were out of his mouth before he could check himself. Heero's face remained indifferent, but inside he was in turmoil. Why was he so quick to find out if she was okay? He must be getting soft. Already he held small emotional attachments to Wufei and the two bubbly blondes to his left, and now he was concerned for a girl he'd only known for a few days. Follow your emotions. That was something that he firmly believed in, but, and he'd only admit this to himself, these new attachments scared him.

"She's fine. She just needs to rest."

"Is there anything we can do?" Usagi's voice held so much concern that Heero noticed Rei's whole demeanor relaxed.

"No, but thank you."

"Well tell her we stopped by to see if she wanted to go shopping, and we'll stop by to see her when she's feeling better." Mina waved good-bye and grabbed Wufei by the arm to lead him down the hall. Usagi said her good-byes also and followed Wufei and Mina. Heero began to follow, but turned at the sound of Rei's voice.

"Stay away from Mako." Duo looked nervous at his sister's bold statement, but judging by the way he avoided eye contact, he felt the same way.

Heero gave Rei a look that could kill. There was no way she was going to tell him what to do. Makoto's friends were so damn protective! He left before they could say anything else that would get under his skin. He knew he wasn't exactly everyone's favorite person, but it seemed ridiculous that Makoto and her friends had no room to include anyone else in their little group. Wait. What did he care? He wasn't exactly a social butterfly either.

Mako woke up to the sunlight streaming in through her window, and the birds chirping. That would have been all great and fairytale like except for the pounding in her head, and the dull burning of her shoulder. Turning over onto her side she found Trowa asleep in a chair he had pulled up next to her bed. He was slumped over with half of his body on her bed. She laughed softly knowing there was no way he could be comfortable sleeping like that.

She lay there watching Trowa's back rise and fall rhythmically with his breathing. He looked so peaceful. Mako sighed, she couldn't remember the last time Trowa had looked worry free. He had taken on the responsibility of taking care of her after their parents died, and he had taken that job very seriously. So seriously in fact Mako worried that he would never enjoy his life. Sighing again, she carefully sat up, and waited for the sudden pain in her head to subside. Gently shaking Trowa's shoulder, Mako tried to wake him, "Trowa. It's time to get up."

Trowa groaned softly, and sat up slowly. Mako watched him blink a couple times before he realized where he was, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I hurt all over, but I expect you do too from sleeping like that."

"I'm fine, Mako." He put a hand to her forehead, "you're fever has gone down, and you're pulse is strong." Trowa gently pushed her forward, and started looking at her shoulder.

"Hey! I'm fine."

"Mako be quiet."

"Trowa? Could you just…ow! Knock it off!" Mako quickly got off the bed, and ignored the screaming protest of all the muscles in her body. "Would you just chill out for a second?"

Trowa stared at her, "I just want to make sure you're okay Mako."

"I know. Couldn't you just let Ami do that? I mean it would be nice if you were just glad to see me awake."

He raised an eyebrow, and laughed. Which surprised Mako because Trowa rarely laughed. In fact it was creepy. "Okay, okay. I'm glad you're awake."

"Okay are you sure you aren't sick?" She climbed back on the bed and placed a hand to Trowa's forehead, "you don't have a fever, but then how do you explain the laughing."

"Mako stop it." He pushed her hand away, and smiled the smile he saved only for his sister.

"Oh my God! A smile! You must be dying."

Trowa's smile turned into a glare, "now you're just being annoying, but if you're joking you must be feeling better. I'll go see if Ami is up." He got up, and stretched while walking to the door.

"Hey Trowa?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." Even though Trowa and her hadn't been getting along well lately, he had stayed with her all night. Mako knew that it was Trowa's way of being there for her.

He smiled at her again as he opened the door, and left. Humming to herself, Mako climbed off her bed once more, and changed into new clothes. She had still been wearing the clothing she had been wearing the night before. They had been completely ruined. The dirt and mud wouldn't have been so bad, but she knew the blood was not going to completely come out. Sighing, she tossed them into her garbage can, and took a mental note to go buy new clothes for flying.

"Mako!"

Mako jumped at the sound of Ami's voice, "you scared me!"

"You should be in bed."

"I couldn't stay in those clothes all day could I?" Ami's silence told Mako that she wasn't going to fight back on the issue. "So how bad was I last night?" Mako said, as she turned away from Ami again.

"Well you're shoulder got slightly infected. That's why you had a fever, and were feeling sick. Crashing into a tree only made it worse."

"Infected? That's surprising."

Mako felt Ami's small hand on her shoulder, "are you feeling okay? I mean…uh…mentally and emotionally." Mako could tell by the nervousness in Ami's voice that she wasn't exactly sure if it was appropriate for her to be asking something like that.

"Why?"

"Duo said you were really upset last night, and if you need to talk I'll listen."

"Thanks Ami, but I was probably just upset because of the fever." Ami was one of her best friends, but somehow Mako found it hard to talk to anyone about the things that were bothering her. Mako wasn't exactly sure herself what was bothering her. Besides she felt like this every once and awhile, and so far she had always pulled herself out of it.

"Oh…well let me look at your shoulder." Mako nodded, but immediately felt bad. She had hurt Ami's feelings, she could tell by the tone of her voice.

"So uh…how's it look?"

"Better, but you won't be able to do much in your classes that require anything physical for awhile."

"How long is awhile? More than half my subjects require me using my arm and shoulder."

"I'd say a couple weeks."

"What!" Mako clenched her fists, "I can't get away with being lazy in class for a couple weeks, and I definitely can't go get a doctor's note from the medical wing!"

"I know. I've been thinking about that, and I think I have a solution."

Mako sat down on her bed, "spill!"

"I had a conversation with Quatre a while back about a new kind of healing practice. He and I had watched a story about it on the news. It's a long shot, but lately there have been many people who say they can heal or speed up the healing process by just touching you. The government has been trying to hush it up, and disprove these people. They're trying to make them look like they have mental problems. Mostly I think it's because the government is scared they'll find out there are more people like you out there."

"What do you mean like me?"

"Well you look human, what if there are other people out there that look human, but have not so human abilities. It could mean people might have to start accepting you and your kind. The government has based its power on telling people they need them to protect them from scary creatures. If the public starts finding out that people they have known all their lives aren't exactly human…well it could reduce the need for a government that fully supports the extermination of all creatures that they say pose a threat. I mean look at how many friends you have that already accept what you are!"

"Uh…that number would be two, Ami. Two." Mako said, waving two fingers in Ami's face.

"You could have zero. I mean it's a start."

Mako shifted uncomfortably on the bed. Even if Ami were right about people becoming more tolerant towards her kind, it probably wouldn't happen in her lifetime. Too many people were prejudice about her kind. Mostly because of Treize Khushrenada, the government's leading man for the promotion of destroying or containment of all creatures. It was too much to think about right now. Especially when she had a headache, "I think we've gotten a little off track."

Ami wrinkled her forehead. She had been so excited about the subject that Mako could tell she had completely forgotten the whole reason she had brought it up. Mako smiled at that. Ever since they had been friends Ami had been looking for ways to liberate her race in a sense. Political activist you might say, but Ami wanted to look for a genetic link between Mako and humans. Already she was training to be a doctor, and she had plans to move into genetics also. Yeah, she was ambitious. "Oh! We were trying to figure out how to keep your wound a secret."

"Yes. Yes we were. You had an idea."

Ami looked slightly embarrassed, but continued. "After Quatre and I saw the story on the news about people claiming they could heal by touch, we decided to research the subject. Apparently there are quite a few people who have come forward claiming they have this ability. Originally they came forward to offer their services to the public, but the government quickly shut down most of them. The government made statements claiming that they were looking out for the public's best interests. Now they are trying to round all these people up under the pretense that they are looking for some sort of mental disorder."

"But you believe that these people don't have any mental disorder."

"Right. I mean the government just happens to leave out the fact that your kind has never once been reported for hurting a human. I wouldn't put it past them to allege that these people have mental disorders."

"So if these people can heal by touch you think they can help me?"

"Yes. I do."

"But if the government is rounding these people up how do you plan on finding one?"

"I already have." Ami pulled a folded piece of paper out of the back pocket of her jeans, and handed it to Mako, "the girl's legal guardian opened a new age healing clinic in town a couple months ago. The advertisements for the clinic say that she has developed charms that can speed up the healing process. It got my attention because you described to me about the way you place a charm over your wings to shrink the size of them. The way you described it made me realize that something like that would take a lot of time and research."

"Of course. Magic is a lost art. It took a long time for my people to remember how to shrink their wings."

"Shrinking your wings is one thing, a simple form of magic, but think of the time and energy it would take to learn how to use healing charms or spells." Ami was right. It would take decades; maybe generations to figure out complicated healing charms. Especially when the government had destroyed all the records they could find on magic. "Not to mention the fact that this girl's legal guardian is a musical genius, and artist. She has spent her life devoted to those arts, and has no connection with magic at all."

"So she couldn't be using magic."

"No. Not as far as I can see."

"Then you think this girl is one of these people with healing abilities?" Mako stared down at the paper Ami had handed to her. Staring up at her was a picture of a girl that looked about fourteen. She had shoulder length black hair, and violet eyes that reminded Mako of Rei and Duo. Even in the picture she seemed small and fragile. Bold letters next to the photo read "Hotaru Tomoe". "It says she died Ami."

"If you read a little further Mako you'll see that a year ago the government was investigating her because a child that attended the same school as her reported to a teacher that she had healed a scratch he had received in weapons training just by touching him. I came across her profile while I was researching…"

"You mean you were hacking."

Ami gave Mako a look, "if you want to get all technical about it, then yes. Anyway, shortly after the accusation her guardian reported that she had died. Of what, I'm not sure. She's not dead Mako. I saw her guardian in town just a week ago, and this girl was with her."

"And her guardian has set up this healing clinic, but has no previous experience in the field of medicine or magic."

"Right."

"But what makes you think she'll help me? What if she has to directly touch the wound on my shoulder? She would find out what I am."

"She's hiding from the same thing you are. I believe she'll be sympathetic, and if not she won't turn you in because you know her secret."

Mako sighed; her head was hurting even more now. "You're sure about this Ami?"

Ami nodded, her blue hair moving with the motion of her head, "I'll go with you, and Quatre said he would too."

"Okay."

Ami smiled reassuringly, "you know I wouldn't have brought this up if I thought that you could be found out."

"I know Ami. I trust you. It's these people that I don't trust," Mako waved the profile Ami had given her in Ami's direction.

"Let's go this afternoon. The sooner we try for this the better. You think you're up for a trip into town?"

"Hell why not?"

Mako stood in front of the school with Ami and Quatre waiting for the car Quatre had secured to arrive. The school loomed behind her almost threatening to consume her. The school's main building resembled that of a high gothic cathedral. Two twin towers over looked the hillside on which the building resided on, and the elaborate flying buttresses made the school seem even more formidable. The large rose window settled in between the two towers, with its bright cheery colors, calmed the fright the school inspired. Behind the main building stretched several other buildings varying in sizes. The two larger buildings housed the schools dorms, and all the rest contained classrooms and the teacher's offices.

Mako tried to keep her attention focused on the way the sunlight caused the patterns on the rose window to shift, but her gaze kept shifting downward to the school's portico. Above the school's large doors imbedded in the tympanum were carvings of man and beast. The images were terrifying to Mako. All of the sculptures depicted man's domination over the creatures that also shared this world. Even the archivolts that lined the tympanum were threatening. The building seemed to scream to Mako that her only fate was to die by human hands.

Sighing, she turned her back to the school hoping to take her mind off of it by focusing on Ami and Quatre. Unfortunately they seemed to be having a private conversation of sorts. They must have been discussing something that had to do with their relationship because they were both blushing. Although Mako was happy for her friends that they cared so much for each other, but it didn't stop Mako from feeling slightly jealous.

All thought and conversation stopped when a sleek black car pulled up the road. Quatre being the gentleman that he was opened the door for both Ami and Mako. Ami was thoroughly charmed by the gesture, but Mako had to roll her eyes at her enthusiasm. It was a known fact Quatre would open any door for any girl, and it was not the first time Quatre had done it for Ami. Deciding that she really didn't want to engage in any conversation with Ami and Quatre, Mako put her chin in her hand, and focused her attention out the window. As the car lurched foreword Mako wrinkled her nose in disgust. She hated cars. They were so small and confined. She much preferred the open sky.

The drive was about fifteen minutes, as the car carefully made its way down the mountain. The road was narrow and curvy, and the only thing to look at was the forest that covered the entire mountain. It was actually a beautiful place. The trees were tall, healthy, and abundant. Unfortunately because of the speed of the car Mako couldn't distinguish individual trees, and she only saw a blur of many different shades of green. Grumbling to herself she closed her eyes, giving up on trying to look at the trees.

Mako kept her eyes closed as they entered the city that started on the lower benches of the mountain, and extended far into the valley below. She hated looking at it. A city was just another show of man's dominance over nature. It was a rather large city compared to the others in the area. In the center of the city was a large building that was the government's stronghold for the surrounding areas. Stretching out around the government building were all the buildings of the city's shopping district. The shopping district was crammed with buildings of all shapes, colors, and sizes. After the parade of shops was the housing district. Most of the houses were simple, but a few were enormous and greatly embellished. These mansions housed important government and military figures. The most impressive of these houses was the one that was the farthest up the mountain. The building had a very regal appearance, and because of its position on the mountain, it seemed to be watching over city. Mako cringed slightly as the car rolled past the house. It's clean appearance and white paint seemed only to mock Mako because she knew that the owner of the house was anything but saintly. Treize Khushrenada had the house built when his military influence had grown so big that he had been able to appoint one of his little sidekicks to the head position at a top ranking school. Unfortunately it had happened to be the school Mako was attending.

Shaking her head in attempt to clear it, Mako noticed Quatre was staring at her. "You okay Mako?"

Now Mako noticed Ami was also staring at her, "yeah. I'm fine."

"You've been making weird noises the whole time we've been in the car."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

Ami patted Mako's hand, "are you nervous?"

Mako laughed lightly, "no no. I just don't like cars or cities."

"Don't worry we are almost there."

The car continued its way through the city into a nice housing area. White condos with green doors lined the streets. The small yards that extended out from the tiny porches had very neat and green grass. Mako was surprised when the car stopped in front of one of the picture perfect condos. Turing to Quatre Mako asked, "She lives in one of these?"

Quatre nodded, "not the first place you'd imagine someone setting up a new age healing clinic in is it?"

"No. It looks like a normal house. I was expecting dark and gloomy with a cloud of mystery around it." Mako climbed out of the car, and carefully stepped over the gutter onto the sidewalk. Quatre and Ami followed shortly after Mako.

"Do you want us to come with you Mako?"

Turning to Ami, Mako shook her head, "no. I think this will work better if I go alone."

Ami looked like she was about to protest, but Quatre stopped her, "I have things to see to. We can meet you in the shopping district in two hours Mako."

Mako smiled at Quatre, "that would be great. Thank you Quatre."

Quatre took Ami by the arm and lead her back to the car. Mako watched the car pull away before she climbed the three steps up to the green door. Hesitantly, Mako raised her hand and pressed her pointer finger onto the small white doorbell. Mako could hear the soft tinkling of a bell echo through the house beyond the door. Keeping her eyes trained on the door Mako could not help but begin to get nervous. Suppressing the urge to run, Mako watched the green door swing open to reveal a woman. Mako's eyes widen slightly at the sight of the woman. She had wavy aquamarine hair that fell past her shoulders, and dark blue eyes. Mako had never seen the ocean, but she felt like she could see it in this woman's eyes. The woman gracefully moved to stand fully in between Mako and the doorway. Even the way the woman raised an eyebrow was done with such grace that Mako couldn't find any words.

Her rosebud lips parted slightly, "yes?"

Mako realized she had been staring, and looked down at the concrete landing she was standing on. She felt the blush creep up her cheeks as she pulled out the flyer Ami had given her out of her back pocket. Presenting it to the woman in front of her, "I was hoping you could help me."

The woman took the flyer, and her eyes focused on it for a second before returning to Mako, "of course. Come in." She stepped back and held the door open wide for Mako. Stepping inside the house the first thing Mako noticed was that the house was decorated in blues, greens, and purples. The woman led her into a small living room, and offered her a seat. Mako settled herself into a large cream-colored couch.

"My name is Michiru," the woman said offering Mako a small slender hand.

Mako took the hand, "I'm Makoto."

"Nice to meet you Mako. What can I help you with today?"

"I hurt my shoulder, and I need a quick fix I guess you could say."

Michiru nodded, "alright. I'll try and help you out as best I can. Do you mind waiting here while I get things set up?"

"I don't mind." Mako watched Michiru disappear down a hallway. Mako took the chance to look around the living room. The large couch she was sitting on was accompanied by a loveseat and armchair that matched. The walls were painted to match the cream color of the couches. Expertly placed around the room were flower arrangements and other decorations that followed the color scheme of blue, green, and purple. There were paintings too. Brilliantly painted underwater scenes with fantastic creatures Mako had only ever seen in books. Getting up off the couch Mako moved to stand in front of one of the paintings that was centered above a small fireplace at the end of the room. It was a large oil painting of a creature Mako had never seen before. The creature was human like with skin that was a mix between a dark blue and green. It had long stringy green hair, large webbed hands and feet, and large gills that fanned out from behind the ears and neck. The face was small with sharp pointy features, but the eyes of the creature were so captivating that it's terrifying appearance could be over looked. Reaching up to run her fingers over the brilliant colors of the painting, Mako was startled when Michiru's musical voice reached her ears.

"Do you like it?"

Mako turned around blushing like a child who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar, "yes. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before."

Michiru smiled softly, and moved to stand in front of the painting with Mako, "I don't think anyone has seen anything like it."

"What do you mean?" Mako watched her turn to face the painting completely, and her features soften slightly. An air of calmness surrounded Michiru, as she seemed to travel far away and into another world. Mako studied the painting again trying to figure out if she could identify the creature, but unfortunately she knew that she hadn't researched a creature before that was so human like. "Is it a creature they don't let you study until you reach advanced courses?"

Michiru blinked, and laughed softly. "Oh no. It is a creature of legend. No one is sure it even exists."

Something tugged in the back of Mako's mind. Who else had told her of a creature of legend? "Creature of legend? What does that mean?"

"It's a fairy tale creature. No one has ever reported seeing one, but people still tell stories about them." She smirked slightly as she said this, almost as if she knew something that everyone else didn't.

"I've never heard a story about anything like this." It wasn't a lie. Mako remembered something about a creature of legend, but the sight of the unusual creature before her did nothing to spark her memory.

"Most of the stories about this particular creature were told around places where an ocean was near-by. Unfortunately the government has slowly been discouraging these stories. Not many people know them now."

"This artist does. How did you come across a painting like this if the government doesn't like people talking about these so called stories?"

Smirking again, "I'm the artist."

Mako could have hit herself. Ami had told her that Michiru was a gifted artist. "I guess that would explain why you have it. It's amazing!"

"Thank you. It's great to have someone else see it besides myself." She stared at the painting a little bit longer before turning away from it, and motioned toward the hallway she had disappeared down earlier, "if you will come this way I can try and fix up that shoulder of yours."

"Oh. Okay."

Following Michiru down a hallway, and down stairs into what seemed to the basement of the condo. It wasn't a very large basement, but it was large enough to hold a small bed and a tall set of drawers. "I know it doesn't really look like somewhere you'd go to get healed, but my techniques don't require all the high tech gear you see in a normal doctors office."

"Any expectations I had about what I would find disappeared when I actually saw where you lived."

Michiru's tinkling laughter filled the room, "I guess this neighborhood isn't the exact place you'd expect to find a business like this." Pausing she collected herself, "I need to let you know that before I can do anything I have to put you to sleep. The healing procedures I use can be somewhat shocking to your system, and if you are asleep there is less of a chance that you might…um…freak out."

So that was how Michiru avoided people finding out about the girl Hotaru. There was no way in hell Mako was going to let Michiru put her to sleep. It looked like she had to let her secret out of the bag. Carefully Mako pulled her oversized cream sweater over her shoulders, while Michiru had busied herself in the set of drawers. The tank top Mako had underneath her sweater was low enough in the back that it sat just below her wings. Keeping the charm on her wings she turned slowly so that when Michiru turned around she wouldn't be able to see Mako's wings until Mako decided she wanted her to. "I know about Hotaru."

Michiru froze, and turned slowly to face Mako, "what are you talking about?"

"I need Hotaru's help, but I can't let you put me to sleep to get it."

"How do you know about Hotaru?" Mako saw something flicker in Michiru's eyes, and something silver flash in her left hand. Mako's eyes narrowed. Was this girl stupid enough to try and pull a knife on her? "ANSWER ME!"

A silver flash caught Mako's eye again as Michiru lunged at her. Reacting with the knowledge of years of training, Mako grabbed Michiru's wrist, and twisted. The small silver dagger in Michiru's hand clattered to the floor. Michiru cried out, and stared up at Mako fearfully. "Listen to me. I'm not here to hurt you or take Hotaru away from you. I need your help, and I can promise you I will keep your secret if you keep mine." Muttering under her breath, Mako lifted the charm off of her wings. They grew to their normal size, and Mako let go of Michiru's wrist.

Michiru's eyes widened, her mouth opened, and she took a step back. "Oh…God! The unknown!"

Mako cringed at the name humans had given her, but did not back down. "Please Michiru!"

Stepping even further back Michiru's back came in contact with the wall, "you…you…you…oh God!"

Mako stood motionless, and unsure of what to do. Maybe this had been the wrong thing to do. The creaking of a door opening grabbed both Mako and Michiru's attention. Both heads snapped in the direction of the unexpected noise to find a small pale girl with luminescent violet eyes. Her straight black hair hung down around her face, and cast eerie shadows on her face as she surveyed the scene before her. Her eyes flickered to Mako, and she took a step toward her. Her soft whisper of a voice carried through the room like silk on skin, "I will help you."

A sigh of relief escaped between Mako's lips. Relaxing her shoulders she turned back to Michiru, "I promise I will not tell a soul if you don't tell anyone about me." Michiru nodded, and Mako saw something flicker behind Michiru's eyes that weren't fear or the idea of betrayal, but excitement. Deciding to disregard it, Mako turned to Hotaru. "Can you heal this?" Turning, Mako showed her shoulder to Hotaru.

Small fingers gently ran along the wound, and Mako shuddered at the slight pain. Before long the pain turned into a warm tingling that slowly spread from her shoulder down along her spine, and then into her head and limbs. It consumed her entire body, and all Mako could see was bright white light. The warmth pulsed a couple times before Mako felt like it was slowly dripping off of her like water running down the body while taking a shower. Then her vision slowly started to come back as the white light became only small pinpricks in her line of sight. Blinking, Mako found herself sitting on the bed, and staring into the wide violet eyes that belonged to Hotaru. "It's quite the odd feeling isn't it?"

Mako raised her arm, and brought it to her shoulder. There was nothing there, not even a scar. "Wow…"

Hotaru smiled, "I'm glad I could help."

"I feel better everywhere. My muscles don't hurt, and my mind feels clearer."

"Yes. My healing abilities are hard to concentrate on just one part of the body." The three of them sat there in silence as Mako continued to run her fingers over her shoulder. It was quite amazing, and Mako couldn't believe how easily this girl had done it.

Michiru suddenly made her way to the door, "I need some tea. Would you both like some?"

Both Hotaru and Mako nodded at the suggestion, and listened to Michiru slowly climb the stairs. "Um…you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I was kind of wondering what your name was."

Mako smiled, "well I guess it's only fair since I know your name. I'm Makoto."

"Why aren't you afraid of me?"

Confused, Mako made direct eye contact with the waif of a girl, "why would I be afraid of you? Shouldn't you be afraid of me?"

"It's just that when I've used my ability in the past people were scared of me after. That's why I had to go into hiding."

"You and me both kid."

Hotaru suddenly looked up at Mako surprised, but smiled. Mako sat in a comfortable silence with Hotaru after that. It was obvious to Mako that Hotaru was glad to have found someone she could relate to. Mako smiled inwardly at that thought also. Here was someone else other than her kind who had to run. Maybe Trowa, Rei, Duo, and herself weren't so alone in this world after all.

Michiru came back with tea, and they all made small talk mostly about what Mako was doing up at school. Hotaru was especially interested in what school was like, and Mako couldn't help feeling sorry for the girl. Having to stay inside and limit social contact had to be hard on Hotaru. They finished their tea, and Mako promised Hotaru that she would come back next weekend. She also promised to bring some friends. Mako had a feeling Hotaru would really enjoy the company of other people.

Mako said her goodbyes to Michiru at the door. As she walked down the front walkway she heard Michiru call to her, "I promise Makoto."

Turning, Mako grinned, "I promise too."

A tall woman's red eyes narrowed in frustration as she slowly sipped her tea. "I hope you have a good reason for calling me over in the middle of the night."

Another woman sitting across from the one that spoke nodded solemnly. "I think once I tell you what has happened today, you'll be glad you made the trip."

"You couldn't tell me over the phone?"

Shaking her head the other woman sighed, "I figured this was a matter that all of us should discuss at the same time." She motioned to what appeared to be a rather tall man lounging on a loveseat.

"Alright let's hear it."

The woman launched into a story of the days events. After she stopped talking the three in the room remained silent. The figure on the loveseat shifted uncomfortably, "if what your saying is true that means the unknown are starting to chance coming out of hiding."

"Right, but what do we do with this information?"

The woman with red eyes smirked, "you say this girl is a student?"

"Yes."

"Then we notify the Long clan. They have always dealt with the unknown. Did the girl give you her name?"

"Yes she did. She said it was Makoto."


End file.
